—
In today’s age, data security is a priority for all businesses. There are many different ways to manage your business’s data properly and securely, but it can be difficult to know where to start. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most important aspects of data management to help you get started with implementing a new plan that will keep your company safe from cyber attacks.
What is Data Management
Data management is a broad term that can describe the structured and organized control of information, from its creation through storage and eventual deletion. Data management includes data protection, which is the process of preventing unauthorized access to data.
Data Management services are important for businesses with large volumes of confidential or proprietary information and those who need to comply with regulations such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, EU GDPR, etcetera. The goal of these regulations is to ensure that any company accepting sensitive customer data maintains the confidentiality and integrity thereof while ensuring it’s not misused either internally or externally by hackers/malicious insiders, etcetera.
Data management can either be done completely in-house or with the help of software solutions like Gartner MDM which can help ensure you remain in compliance.
Here are a few ways you can improve your company’s data management.
Understand the Potential of Your Data
The first step in good data management is understanding the potential of your data. Not all data is created equal, and not all of it needs to be protected with the same level of security. You need to have a clear understanding of what type of data you are dealing with and its value.
Classify Your Data
Once you understand the potential of your data, you need to start classifying it into different categories. Classification will help you to better protect sensitive information by applying the correct level of security to each category. Here are some common classifications for data:
- Public: Information available to anyone who wants it, such as company contact information or blog posts.
- Confidential: Information that should be restricted to a limited number of people, such as employee salaries or customer data.
- Private: Information that is only meant for the owner’s eyes, such as internal documents or trade secrets.
Protect Your Data
Once you have classified your data, it’s important to take steps to protect it from unauthorized access. Data protection includes implementing security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software, and encryption. You also need to make sure that your employees know the importance of data security and how to protect sensitive information.
Regularly Back Up Your Data
To protect your data in the event of an attack, you should regularly back up your data. A backup will ensure that you have a copy of your data if it is lost or damaged.
Build a Data Management Team
You know that managing your data is important if you’re a business owner. But what does that mean, exactly? And why is it so important?
A data management team can help you implement and manage data management services such as data classification, protection, and backup, which means that your data will be properly sorted and organized, safe from harm, and easy to access in the event of an emergency.
So why is this important? Here are just a few reasons:
- Loss of data can be costly and damaging to your business
- Data can be lost or easily stolen if it’s not properly protected
- Properly managed data makes data recovery from a disaster easier
Comply With Global Data Privacy Laws
New data privacy laws are being implemented all over the world. It’s important to comply with these regulations to ensure that your company is not at risk of fines or penalties.
The GDPR is set to be the standard for data protection in the EU and will result in all companies operating within the European Union complying with these standards. These standards include basic requirements such as obtaining consent from a user before collecting any information and providing a copy. Companies are required to delete any information that has been requested to be deleted due to lack of use. Companies that fail to do so will face penalties up to 4% of their net worldwide annual turnover from the previous year.
Utilize Software Solutions
There are many software systems out there that can help with what is called Master Data Management. The most well-known would probably be Gartner MDM which has been a leader in the field for years. If your business isn’t quite up to fielding a whole data security team at the moment, then one of these enterprise solutions may be what you’re looking for.
Final Thoughts
It is important to manage your business’s data properly and securely. Many different types of data can be classified into public, confidential, or private categories. You need to make sure you protect all of the sensitive information by implementing security measures like firewalls, anti-virus software, and encryption along with regular backups in case it gets lost or damaged. It is also important to comply with new global regulations on how companies should collect and store their customer’s personal information, so they do not face fines for noncompliance.
—
This content is brought to you by Amanda Maladay.
